As much of an update as I can write before I have to move on to something else

Coming to you now from the dinning room table. More comfortable than the floor but not entirely ergonomic.

We're coming up on our third week in Gilroy, has it only been 3 weeks? It seems like months already. I'd like to say that we are fitting in with the surroundings but some days I just feel like a big Canadian Moose stomping around in a field of fluffy bunny rabbits. I haven't had any social outings yet so whenever I go to a store or restaurant I have to tell people our life story.

"We just moved here, you know!" I'll say, and the polite service provider/pseudo-friend will smile in a welcoming yet not really that interested sort of way. How many months can you say you've "just" done something? 2,3,6 a year? I don't feel like I could say that I JUST had a baby but then again he's only 7 months old.

Our days have not really settled into any sort of routine yet. There is one thing we do almost daily and that is going to the dog park. Apart from that we kind of make it up. Some days I think that my brain can't find a place to land and so it chooses not to decide on anything. On those days it's not unlikely to find me staring at the TV. I think I feel like with the dog and Emmett and the apartment full of boxes and each one needing something and me being the only one to provide it gets a little overwhelming and I just check out. Other days, I get up and seems to manage it all quite well. We go for a walk, get some shopping done, laundry, cooking even naps seem to happen effortlessly. Not having a support system around me, I think, is getting into my psyche more than the reality of it. I mean, yeah it would be nice to have someone to have lunch with or walk with but I think it's the potential crisis moment that worries me.

I guess that's what change is all about it. Getting used to something else, finding new pathways to safety and friendship and contentment. Anyway, I think that for 3 weeks things are just as they should be - kind of scary but generally okay.

Richard is loving his job. He rides the 12 miles or so to work most days, since we're a one car family now. He arrived home last week with a giant pile of Specialized gear. I actually think that he thinks he's died and gone to bike heaven. He doesn't talk about it much because I think he feels a little guilty but I can tell that he has found his happy place and that is what it's all about, right?

The Emmetty one is making a play for the cutest baby in the world, he has my vote anyway.

He's learned to sit up quite well and will attempt a hands and knees rocking thing but falls back on the old roll to your destination maneuver. He's become very engaged with the world around him. He LOVES Chester and Marta. Chester seems to be investigating him more than Marta. I have a feeling that has more to do with the grabbing a fist-full and pulling fur than anything else.



Richard and I took Emmett to the Monterey Bay Aquarium over the weekend, just another perk to living in the Bay Area, there's awesome stuff to do and see here! I think that Emmett found the crowds of people more interesting than the fish but who's to say really. I'm anxious to take him back in the next year or so and see how his interests develop.

Emmett has also become a very big eater. He's still primarily nursing but will also eat a full serving each of apples, peas and rice during the day. When we sit down for a spoon fed meal and I get the food in front of him he eagerly opens his mouth wide and seems to really enjoy the action of eating and the food. I keep meaning to write this in his baby journal but I am very proud, in my own sort of cooky way, to say that Emmett's first meal of apples was in Santa Cruz near the beach. I hope he thinks that's cool when he's old enough.

I joined a Mommy and Me Meetup group and have RSVPed for some gatherings/playtimes but haven't gone to a single one yet. I think I'm a little more anti-social than the average mom. Yes, I want to get out there and meet people but I suck at the whole being a pleasant person thing and I'm not really into talking about kids unless it's my kid and even then, I like to let him speak for himself. Plus, what if they don't like me...

Tomorrow is a kids' gym thing and I have planned to go, we'll see.

So one of the many joys of living in an apartment that looks on to the parking area is that you get the guy who thinks his motorcycle is only cool if it's making more noise than a 747 making more noise than a 747 right in front of your house while the baby sleeps - not anymore!

Sending big hugs out to all who read this, I miss you.



I just love this photo